head to head · open source
osv-scanner vs cve-lite-cli
osv-scanner has 11,092 GitHub stars, 798 forks, 113 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. cve-lite-cli has 740 stars, 153 forks, 49 open issues and last shipped yesterday. osv-scanner leads on adoption by 1,399% (11,092 vs 740 stars). osv-scanner is written in Go under Apache-2.0; cve-lite-cli is written in TypeScript under MIT. osv-scanner has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, cve-lite-cli 21%. cve-lite-cli was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (security-tools, vulnerability-scanner), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| osv-scanner | cve-lite-cli | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 11K | ★ 740 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-25 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 798 | ⑂ 153 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick osv-scanner if
- You weight community size — 11K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cve-lite-cli if
- You want the cve-lite-cli feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and cve-lite-cli fits your workflow better
About osv-scanner
OSV Scanner is an Apache 2.0 licensed vulnerability scanner written in Go that connects a project's list of dependencies with the vulnerabilities affecting them, using data from the open OSV.dev database, and it is aimed at developers, maintainers, and security teams who need to find known vulnerabilities in the dependencies they already ship.
read the full osv-scanner overview →
About cve-lite-cli
CVE Lite CLI is an MIT licensed, OWASP Lab Project command line scanner that reads JavaScript and TypeScript lockfiles to find known dependency vulnerabilities, built for developers and platform teams who want fast local results in the terminal and a clean fit into CI.
read the full cve-lite-cli overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is osv-scanner or cve-lite-cli more popular?
osv-scanner has 11,092 GitHub stars and cve-lite-cli has 740. osv-scanner has the larger community by that measure.
Are osv-scanner and cve-lite-cli free?
Both are open source. osv-scanner is licensed under Apache-2.0 and cve-lite-cli under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between osv-scanner and cve-lite-cli?
osv-scanner is written in Go and cve-lite-cli in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, osv-scanner or cve-lite-cli?
Choose osv-scanner if you want the larger community (11,092 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose cve-lite-cli if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.